this week, we have some beautiful sacred music from thailand's northeast; achan duangchan khemachitto performing thet lae! despite buddhist monks being prohibited from performing music, there does exist a tradition of very melodic & expressive vocalizations used for reciting sacred texts, and even sermons composed in klon (the same poetic form used by molam) known as thet lae. lae can be heard during all sorts of festivals in isaan, and was a significant influence on early luk thung music.. there's even a history of bandleaders courting talented young preachers to become recording stars (including mr. dao bandon, for instance). this tape, however, features the original formula; a solitary voice, unaccompanied & unpolished. i haven't been able to find out much about our monk, a. duangchan khemachitto, but i would assume he is affiliated with wat phrathat phanom woramahawihan in nakhon phanom, the chedi of which graces the cover of the j-card. enjoy!!

this week, vintage luk thung from "national artist" mr. chaichana bunnachot! one of the earliest practitioners of thai country music, chaichana has remained a favorite throughout the years as both a singer & songwriter. hailing from central thailand's chachoengsao province, he grew up working on a mango plantation before joining his uncle's liké troupe, where he learned to sing all manner of folksong. eventually, he left for bangkok with his brother and the two sang at bus terminals throughout the city, earning some renown as street performers. chaichana soon turned his talents towards the new style being pioneered by khamronsambunnanon, which would come to be known as luk thung. he came to the attention of songwriter & bandleader phayong mukda, who penned his earliest songs. from there he worked with other songwriters like phaibun butkhan & phiphat boribun before eventually coming into his own as a songsmith. for many generations chaichana has been a star performer and mentor to younger singers, and is still performing today! enjoy!

enchanting songs of thailand

a collection of great music made by the people of thailand; luk thung, luk krung, molam, regional folk styles & more. mostly recorded from tape, sound quality should be pretty good (unless stated otherwise). transliteration is done using the royal thai general system of transcription. feedback/re-upload requests/etc. always appreciated!